


Rumcake

by whatchuknowbouts (firesoul01)



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: F/M, Mentions of alchol, Vauge mentions of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 09:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1852927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firesoul01/pseuds/whatchuknowbouts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written because of a post Rattyjol made on tumblr. Cassie gets really drunk and accidently ends up Jake's apartment. They meet for the first time and talk. DrunkAU for animorphs</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Contact

Jake Berenson had been having a pretty normal week, and it was almost over when he woke up on Sunday. He’d went out drinking last night with Marco and Melissa, and his mouth felt like someone had stuffed cotton in his mouth and scoured it with steel wool. His eyes opened, looking around for Homer, his dog nowhere to be found.

He rolled out of bed, barely catching himself before falling flat on his face, mostly steady on his feet. Jake grabbed a shirt as he walked past his dresser, sniffing it and deeming it acceptable.When he exited his room he found Homer, and a surprise visitor sleeping on his couch. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at the person sleeping on his couch. 'I could swear the girl Marco brought home last night was blonde.' Jake thought to himself, yawning quietly. 'And white, she was definitely paler than he was.' Jake added as an after thought. He shrugged slightly, not worrying too much before, “Marco, you have a guest out here!”

"Yaaahhh" The girl yelled, flailing around, barely missing Homer and falling off of the couch. Her eyes scanned the apartment, eyes widening at the sight of Jake, her face darkening with a blush. "This isn’t the right apartment isn’t it?" She muttered, slumping her shoulders.

Jake shook his head, chuckling, “I don’t think so.”

At that moment Marco stuck his head out of his room, scowling at his roommate. “Jake, what have I told you about voices above 15 decibels before 2 PM on Sundays?” Marco said, staring between the two people in his living room. “And who is your guest Jake?”

Jake ducked his head at Marcos smirk. “I don’t know her. I thought you brought her home with you.” Jake shrugged, scratching his head distractedly as he walked towards the kitchen, turning the stove on and starting on breakfast.

As the bacon was sizzling and he had the toaster filled with toast, he felt the girl brush past him, helping cook. “I figure I should help you, I broke into your apartment and slept on your couch and you don’t even know me.” She said, smiling at Jake between adjusting the bacon.

Jake grabbed her hand, pulling her hand from the pan. “You don’t have to help. People make mistakes, and it’s not like you did anything that’ll cost us money or hurt either of us.”

The girl rubbed his knuckles gently, shrugging. “I like helping, plus I haven’t got to cook breakfast in forever. My dad tends to cook while I help out my mom look after the animals we have.”

Jake nodded distractedly, her fingers felt nice over his knuckles. Her hands were soft over his scars. “That’s fine. I just don’t want to make you feel like you have to do something, ya know?” He smiled at her, squeezing her hand once more as the toast popped out. “Now lets get this finished. I feel like I got a hole in my stomach, and I’ve got a bit of a hangover.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jake sat down at the table, food all plated and ready to eat. He handed the mystery girl a plate out of the pile, grabbing his own and piling it with food. “So, I never managed to get your name.” Jake said, smiling slightly, looking down at his food.

"I’m Cassie," The girl said, extending her hand across the table. "I think I meant to break into the apartment one over. I’m friends with Rachel Berenson. I was supposed to go back to her place with her and her boyfriend, but I got a little too much to drink last night and missed her when she was leaving." Cassie said, a laugh in her voice.

"So naturally you try to break in to her apartment, while drunk," Jake replied, his own laugh coming out in his voice. "Wait, did you say boyfriend? I didn’t know Rachel was seeing anyone."

Cassie nodded, a confused look on her face. “Yeah, Rachels been seeing the guy for a while, it seems pretty serious. He lives with his cousin, but it seems like he spends most of his time at her apartment.” She took a bite of food, using the time to think, “Are you and Rachel… seeing each other? Or something, I mean you seem pretty confused about her dating habits,” Cassie said, seeing the look of confusion on Jakes face.

"Oh my god. What? No, not at all." Jake said, shaking his head, disturbing images flashing through his mind. "Rachel is my cousin. She lives next door to me."

Cassies eyes widened slightly as she looked at Jake. “You’re Rachels cousin? And you’re named Jake?” Cassie asked, starting to laugh. Laughing so hard tears started to stream from her eyes. “You’re the Jake she’s been trying to set me up on a blind date with since forever. And I meet you because I broke into your apartment because I was too drunk.” Cassie babbled, slightly hysterical.

Jake smiled across the table, laughing with Cassie. “Yeah, I guess I am.” He smiled across the table, his fingers reaching across, brushing Cassies hand softly. “Would you like to go to dinner sometime?”

She smiled back at him, “Sure.”


	2. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner and history.

Jake was nervous, sitting at the table waiting for Cassie. He hadn’t been on a dinner date in forever, especially not with someone he had only met that morning. His last one was with that Aldrea girl that Marco set him up with, or was it that Co-worker of Marcos mom, Alloran? His foot was tapping, his fingers tracing the scars on his hand, feeling the raised tissue under the pads of his fingers. As he started to wave down a waiter to see if he had missed Cassie’s entrance, he saw her. She was dressed nice enough to not look out of place in the resturant, but not so nice that Jake looked shabby by comparison.

Jake stood as she approached, waving slightly to grab her attention. “Hey Cassie,” He said, smiling as she started walking to him. “You look beautiful,” Jake whispered as she reached him, just loud enough to be heard in the restaurant, blushing and looking away for a moment before pulling her chair out for her and taking his own seat.

"Thanks, you look very handsome yourself," Cassie replied, smiling slightly at Jake. "Were you waiting long? I’m really sorry for taking so long, Rachel wouldn’t let me leave until she primped me for almost 20 extra minutes."

Jake chuckled, a smile blooming. “Yeah, Rachel has a tendency to do that. You should see her before big family dinners, she will spend an hour making sure everyone looks nice,” Jake reached for the wine list, scanning the list, his brow furrowing. “So uh, do you drink?”

Cassie looked at Jake, a smirk on her face. “Yeah, I drink sometimes. Have you forgotten this morning already?” Cassie asked, laughing at Jake’s face.

Jake blushed, looking down at the list, “Yeah, I guess that was a bit of a dumb question huh? So what do you like to drink when you’re not clubbing? Any particulars for wine?”

Cassie reached across the table, her fingers brushing over his. “Jake, if you want to drink, I really don’t care, but I don’t think I’m gonna drink tonight. Something about this morning felt really good… right… I don’t really know. I just want this to go the best it can.”

Jake raised an eyebrow at Cassie, turning his hands so his fingers rested against Cassie’s. “So I guess it wasn’t just me then huh?” Jake laughed, closing the wine list, placing it on the table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jake and Cassie were finishing up their food, exchanging shy smiles and bits of conversation over desert. “So Jake,” Cassie began, taking a sip of her sweet tea, “What do you do? I love hearing about peoples work.”

Jake shrugged, taking a bite of his cheesecake, chewing slowly. “Well, I was a solider until a few months ago. I got into a pretty bad firefight so I get sent back home. Now I work with a private defense firm here in town. One of my C.O.’s got me the job after I got injured.”

Cassie leaned forward, her face lighting up. “That sounds really interesting. What does a job like that entail? If you can tell me of course.”

Jake laughed, “Yeah, I can tell you. I just set up security systems for people and stuff like that. Mostly it’s a lot of paperwork and working with people about their house layout and what they want to have as far as their security systems.”

Cassie nodded, taking Jakes hand in hers, smiling at him brightly. “That sounds like a nice job,” Cassie began, her voice fading at the end. Cassie took a deep breath before continuing. “I know this might be really weird, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but where did you get these scars? I noticed some like them on Rachel, and I was just curious.”

Jake looked between his hands and Cassie, shrugging at the question. “To be perfectly honest. I really don’t know. I got them back when I was a teenager I guess. Around the time I was 13, I got this really serious feeling of dread, like something crazy was gonna happen. Something terrible and horrible and unimaginably bad. And that feeling stayed for a few years, right up until Rachel and Tom got into a car wreck.”

Cassie leaned forward, using her free hand to brush Jake’s hair back, gently touching his cheek. “You don’t have to talk about it if it bothers you. I’m sorry for asking.”

Jake shook his head, “No, it doesn’t bother me, I just hope you don’t think I’m crazy after I tell you… everything. It’s kinda out there.”

"My teenage years weren’t exactly normal Jake, if I think it’s crazy, then there’s something that you understand that I don’t, and that’s ok. Tell me as much as you want, I won’t push for more."

Jake nodded his head, squeezing her hand gently. “Rachel and Tom got into a car wreck when Rachel was 16. She had just gotten her official license, and Tom was helping teach her. They were driving and the car got away from Rachel, veering into on coming traffic and slamming some guy head on. They both almost died in the car, but they pulled through by a hair each. Turns out they rammed into some infamous serial killer dude. Servesh Riet, or something like that. He was from eastern Europe, and claimed we were going to be his puppets. But after that, the feeling went away, my memories are kinda fuzzy from then, but I remember not having the scars before the feeling, and having the scars after the feeling went away,” Jake paused, looking at Cassie for a moment. “I’m rambling aren’t I? Sorry Cassie, you asked one question and I’m giving you my life story.”

Cassie nodded distractedly. “Yeah, you are kinda rambling, but I know what you mean. I had the same kinda thing happen. Except my memories aren’t as jumbled as yours seem to be. Plus, I didn’t get any scars on my hands. Mine are here,” Cassie said, raising her lip, showing scars on her gum line, crisscrossing and overlapping one another.

Jakes eyebrows furrowed, “That’s interesting,” He mused, motioning for the waiter to bring the check. “Ummm, this may be way too soon, and if it is tell me, but would you like to come back to my place and watch some TV and relax or something?” Jake rushed out, his face beginning to heat up.

Cassie smiled at him, her own face heating up. “I’d love to. Plus, I can always run next door to Rachel and get her to kick your ass if you get too fresh,” Cassie replied, her face burning at the implication, winking as she stood up. “Meet you at your apartment complex.”


	3. Sleepy Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie and Jake meet up at his apartment. After they fall asleep, Jake dreams of a red eye and a dinosaur. Brief and fairly vague mentions of sex.

When Jake got home, he poured himself a half shot of Jack into a glass and mixed it into a glass of cherry soda, enough to take the edge of nerves off, preemptively in this case, but not so much to get him even the least bit tipsy. As he walked into his living room, sipping his whiskey and soda, he heard a knock on his door.

As he opened the door to reveal Cassie, a smile broke on both of their faces, Cassie’s bright and open, Jake’s more reserved and shy. Jake motioned Cassie inside, taking another sip of his drink before putting it on the side table. “Welcome to my apartme…” Jake began before he was cut off by Cassie leaning in, silently trying to get consent before kissing him.

Jake nodded dumbly at Cassie, his eyes locked onto hers. Cassie grabbed his shirt front, kissing him passionately, pulling him fully into the kiss.

Jake returned the kiss, pulling them both to the couch. Their lips always connected before Jake started trailing kisses over Cassie’s face. Her fingers found their way into Jake’s hair, her shoulder found the way to his mouth. Before long Jake was out of his shirt, and they were on their way to his bedroom, still drinking the other person’s essence in, continually kissing and caressing.

As the door to Jake’s bedroom closed, the tempo became more frantic, more needy. Jake’s hands started roaming over Cassie’s body. He was normally awkward and shy with his touches, but in the moment, he was self assured and confident, like he had done it thousands, millions of times before. Jake knew where to touch, how hard to press, how hard to nip and bite to pull the perfect sounds out of her.

He fell asleep covered in sweat, holding her to his chest, still inside her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Jake slept, he saw a massive red eye, sitting on a throne miles high. 'DRODE!' The voice said, booming within his head, his brain seeming to vibrate with the voice. 'HOW DID THE ANAMOLY COME TO BE IN CONTACT WITH THE OTHER WILDCARD? OUR LORD MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR. THE WILD CARD AND THE ANAMOLY ARE NOT TO BE TOGETHER. THE COMBINATION IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN LEAD TO HIS DOWNFALL.' 

Jake collapsed to the ground, grabbing his head, images flashing through his mind. Images of him and Cassie, as young as 16, as old as 40, but always together. Covered in blood of their enemies, sometimes the blood of their friends. A tiger pattern over lays his skin, a wolfs fur over Cassie’s. He sees them at the end of each memory, fighting off a monster. A amalgam of a creature spewing fire, a blue centaur with a bladed tail and an unnatural looking mouth. The creature had one red eye in the middle of it’s forehead and a slug hanging out of one ear. Each and everytime, they won. They won by inches sometimes, by miles the others. But they always won because they never gave up on each other. They always fought together, and they always won.

'HIS MIND IS GETTING BETTER AT SEEING THE BREAKS IN TIME. DRODE WE MUST STOP THE RESETS FROM BEING NEEDED. HIS SHORT TERM MEMORY GETS HARDER TO WORK AROUND WITH EACH TRY. THE ONE WILL BE ANGRY WITH US IF WE FAIL. IF WE SUCCEED, I WILL HAVE THE OTHER WILD CARD AS A PET, AND THIS WILD CARD WILL HAVE HIS HEAD ON A PIKE.'

As each memory flashed through, Jake felt his head in even more pain. His hands clapped over his temples, his hands fisting in his hair, screaming out. As he relived the past 24 hours and his scream peaked, he jolted up in bed, Cassie’s hands finding his shoulders, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Jake! Jake, are you okay?” Cassie cried, stroking his face. “You were screaming in your sleep. What were you dreaming about? Did you have a nightmare?”

Jake shook his head, his mind foggy, the red eye the only thing remembered from his dream. “No.. yes… maybe. I really don’t know what that was. I just remember a giant red eye. And this feeling of something familiar, but malevolent watching me.”

Cassie wrapped Jake more firmly in her arms, resting his head on her chest. “Jake, it’ll be okay. I promise. If you have another nightmare, I’ll be here for you. I’ll be here in the morning. Now lets go back to sleep, I don’t know about you, but four times in one night wears me out enough to sleep for a full night.” Cassie kissed Jake gently, pushing him back into his pillows, resting her head on his chest. As she saw his eyes drift close, she placed one last kiss against his chest.

"Sweet dreams Jake."


	4. Awakened Memories, Scars, and Elimists. Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake wakes up to a strange voice. Cassie and Jake talk for a moment.

When Jake felt the first rays of sunlight against his eyelids, he squinted his eyes closed, turning his head away from the light. He felt rather than heard the voice,  _ **'You owe me this sleep WildCard, your debt will come due. Do not forget this.'**_ With his brain still mostly fogged from an amazing nights sleep, he vaguely noticed the feeling of someone laying on him. Someone that was definitely human, Homer never laid quite so still. As he kept his face turned away from the light, he reached down, reaching for the persons, presumably Marco’s, waistband, getting ready to grab him and pull him off. As his fingers touched skin, remarkably cool and extremely _soft_ skin, his eyes snapped open, looking at Cassie’s face buried in his shoulder. “You’re not Marco,” Jake slurred, sleep still mostly holding him in place, his hand flattening out, covering an expanse of skin on Cassie’s lower back with his hand.

Cassie snuggled her head into Jake’s shoulder softly, tracing feather light kisses over his shoulder and the lower part of his neck. “No, I’m not,” Cassie said softly, speaking in between more soft kisses, moving closer to Jake’s face with each word. “Would you prefer it be Marco?” Cassie asked, kissing Jake at the corner of his mouth.

Jake smiled at Cassie, squirming slightly at the soft, almost non existent kisses peppered along his neck and shoulder. “Not even a little bit,” He replied, leaning up and kissing Cassie softly, his hand on her hip pulling her closer to him, his free hand entwining with hers.

As the kiss broke, Cassie snuggled into Jakes arms, running her fingers lightly over the exposed skin, touching as much as she could get too without moving. As she reached the scars from his accident overseas, she felt Jake tense up, her fingers brushing over keloid scars along his lower abdomen and hip. “I’ll stop whenever you want me to Jake,” Cassie said softly, her fingers tracing over the scars, feeling him twitch softly beneath her.

Jake leaned down and kissed Cassie again, softer and shier in a way. “Cassie I don’t want you to stop. I… I don’t really know why, but I trust you. It sounds cliche as all hell, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.” Jake cupped her cheek with his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb, leaving his thumb resting against the very edge of her mouth. “What happened last night… between us. That doesn’t happen with me. Ever. I’ve only been with three other people in that way. But with you, with you it feels _right_ , like really really right. Every look, every touch, even your smile makes me feel good,” Jake stopped for a moment, running his tongue over his lips before continuing, “I’ve never been able to go back to sleep after one of those nightmares before last night, when I knew you would be here when I woke up.”

Cassie lifted herself up, giving herself a better view of Jake, looking him in the eye. “What do you dream about Jake? Is it something that happened to you in the Middle East?” Cassie asked before shaking her head roughly, her braids bouncing behind her. “I shouldn’t be asking, I’m being really really rude aren’t i? I just, seeing these physical scars, I want to know about the mental scars,” Cassie shrugged, snuggling back into Jakes left side, the one closer to the wall. “I want to figure out what makes you tick Jake Berenson. Because I feel the same way about you, no matter how cliche it is.”

Jake shrugged his right shoulder, making sure he didn’t jostle Cassie any. “No, it’s fine. It’s nothing about the sandbox, and talking about them doesn’t really bother me too much. I’ve had these nightmares since I was a teenager. They started right after the car accident with Rachel and Tom. I can never remember anything but a giant red eye, and I always wake up screaming with an all over itch, kinda like the one you get when hair starts growing back out. It almost never happened since I left high school. It didn’t bother me but twice overseas, and last night was the first one since I came home,” Jake took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, resting his head against Cassies on his shoulder, smiling gently so she could feel it. “That’s actually why I went into the military. At least part of it. My grandpa was a hero in WWII, he left me his footlocker in his will, along with his medals. So I initially wanted to honor his memory, but after the nightmares started, I decided to try to run from it. New continent, new scenery, new people, figured I could get away from whatever triggered the nightmares if I just ran far enough fast enough. It worked for a while.”

Cassie draped her arm over Jake, pulling him into a hug, feeling him shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. As she held him, the first tears started flowing, and neither knew, or cared who started crying first. They held each other, shaking, crying.

As the tears subsided, Jake smiled at Cassie. It was a weak, watery smile, but it was a true smile as he continued his story. “The first time I had a nightmare, it was when I was home on leave. I went out drinking with Rachel and Marco day before I was set out to leave again, and all I remember is that Rachel invited a friend along, we hit it off pretty well. We stayed up all night talking, but the next day I had to leave again. When I went to sleep the next time, the nightmare was there. I woke half the barracks with my screaming. The next time, was after a pretty big firefight. I was pretty well and truly hurt after it. I was on my way to cover, a friend, no a brother, I was covering hit a landmine, a mine I would’ve hit if I’d been in front of him. If I hadn’t been trying to protect him, I would’ve saved his life. But it was that night I had another nightmare. The docs got me patched up good enough, but they were considering sending me home again to heal better. I had the nightmare, they told me I was to stay there for some kind of psych testing instead of going home.”

Cassie stared at Jake, hugging him tightly, “Is there some common denominator between what happens?” Cassie asked, idly tracing patterns along Jake’s back as she thought aloud. “Like some constant that causes them? Maybe some way to avoid the triggering mechanism that causes you to have the nightmares.”

Jake kissed Cassie, only a quick peck before pulling back, a stronger smile on his face. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t really care why it happens, I’m just happy that I managed to get back to sleep afterwards. Speaking of, I’m actually still exhausted, and wouldn’t mind going back to bed for a little bit longer.”

Cassie returned the kiss, cuddling into Jake’s arms as he talked. “Can I stay right here? It’s nice and warm, and I wouldn’t mind a little bit more sleep if it’s alright with you.”

Jake didn’t respond right away, reaching down to grab the sheet he had kicked off sometime in the night and pulling it back over Cassie and himself. “I was hoping you would want to stay,” He murmured, placing a quick kiss to the edge of her mouth before falling back to sleep quickly.

 

 


	5. Interrogatio... I mean Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie goes to hang out with Rachel for a little bit.

Cassie was slowly waking up, doing her best to enjoy the relaxing warmth of cuddling up with Jake and working through the confusing and quite frankly overwhelming emotions swirling around in her head. She had just established that yes, she did like Jake and yes, she was probably already falling in love with him. She had also decided that there was approximately less than a snowballs chance in hell of her ever telling Jake how she feels, at least until she worked it out for herself. As she buried her face in the crook of Jakes shoulder, a smile slipped onto her face.

As she was planting a kiss on Jake’s chest, she heard a rather loud vibrating. As she looked up, she saw her phone, shaking across the floor, the screen lighting up with Rachel’s name clearly visible. ‘Oh shit. I was supposed to go back to Rachel’s after I was done hanging out with Jake.' Cassie was still following this same train of thought when she felt a small squeeze and the feel of Jakes lips along her temple.

"Good morning, again, beautiful," Jake said softly, his lips still close to her temple.

"Morning Jake," Cassie replied, her breath warm against his chest, returning the hug before pushing herself up. She climbed out of the bed, grabbing her phone and pulling a shirt on before answering the call trying to come through, "Hey, Rachel? What’s up?"

As Cassie was busy talking to Rachel, Jake took the chance to stand, stretching, working his left knee, attempting to wake his leg up and work out the kinks from the old wound. He started gathering up his clothes from the night before, grabbing a change of clothes and sliding into the bathroom quietly. After throwing his old clothes in the hamper, he grabbed his robe, throwing it on before walking back into his room, grabbing a towel on the way out.

As Jake reentered the room, he saw Cassie with an exasperated look on her face. “Yes Rachel, I’ll be there in like an hour, just give me some time to shower and change. Bye Rach, see you soon,” Cassie said, her voice growing louder at the end, talking over the other person on the phone.

Jake saw the look of exasperation warring with a smile on her face, the smile eventually winning out. “So,” She started, a blush quickly forming, “Any chance I can borrow your shower?”

Jake nodded, handing Cassie the towel grabbed earlier. “Of course. You go ahead, I’ll grab the next one,” Jake says, a blush forming as he looks slightly over Cassie’s shoulder. “Ummm Cassie, I know this might not be the best time but, I really like you. Like I said earlier, I feel like I’ve known you for a very long time. I’d really like to be able to take you out again, and I’d like to be able to see where this,” At this Jake makes a vauge motion between them, “Leads to. But I don’t want this to just be about sex or passion or whatever it is. I want this to be about liking each other. I just…”

Cassie touches Jake’s shoulder, cutting him off as gently as she could. “Jake, I feel the same way. I’m not super comfortable with sex all the time. Last night was a major anomaly for me. I just… the feeling I talked about, feeling like I knew you so much, it just jump started something in me, and I wanted you. In a way that I haven’t felt for someone else before. It wasn’t just this sexual way, it was more of a desire to be close to you, and my brain decided to use physical intimacy to show that. But this morning, with that emotional closeness, that was just as good,” Cassie shrugs, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, “I wouldn’t mind that emotional closeness staying, and I definitely agree about letting the physical closeness develop naturally. It almost never ends well by just jumping into a super physical relationship. Although, I don’t think I would mind waking up in your arms again, that was really nice.”

Jake nodded, “That sounds really nice Cass. I’ll call you tonight, if that’s ok with you?” Jake said, more question than statement.

Cassie returned the nod, walking past Jake to the bathroom, pausing in the doorway, “I was actually kinda hoping I could come by after I spend some time with Rachel. Unless you had other plans, I wouldn’t mind hanging out some,” Cassie waited to hear Jake’s muttered affirmative before closing the door and starting her shower.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a quick, methodical shower, Cassie stepped out of the bathroom wearing a towel and a sheepish look. “Hey Jake, I know I’m probably being a major imposition at this point, but is there any way I could borrow some clothes? I know it’s probably hugely inconvenient and I…” Cassie trailed off as Jake gestured to a pile of clothes stacked neatly on the bed.

"I may have accidentally thrown your clothes into the washing machine, so I laid out some clothes that I thought would fit you. I’m really sorry Cassie, I’m just not used to having guests over and I just threw them in the wash without thinking," Jake replied, scratching the back of his head, "If you need a belt or an undershirt they’re in the middle drawer in the bedside table."

Cassie moved to the pile of clothes, starting to pick out clothes that looked small enough to fit her. “Thanks Jake, you’re a life saver,” She said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. “If I show up to spend time with Rachel in the same clothes I wore last night, I may never hear the actual end of it.”

Jake chuckled, nodding in agreement. “Believe me, I understand what you mean with Rachel. I’m gonna grab me a shower too. If you’re already gone when I get done, then I’ll see you tonight. Just knock on the door when you wanna hang out.”

Cassie nodded once. “Sounds good. See you later tonight.”

~~~~~~~~~~

As Cassie was walking to Rachel’s apartment from Jake’s, she couldn’t help but tug on the shirt. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable, quite the opposite, it was soft and comfortable, but it just wouldn’t lay right. She was still fidgeting with the shirt, trying to get the shoulders just right when she knocked on Rachel’s apartment door, and was greeted with Rachel, a knowing smile on her face.

"So, you never came back last night," Rachel began, her smile firmly in place, ushering Cassie inside. "And I heard some very interesting, and disturbing things coming from my cousins apartment last night. I mean, at first I just assumed it was Marco with another floozie, until I heard some very loud name calling at like 4 AM."

Cassie blushed under Rachel,s stare, looking at her feet as she stood just inside the doorway. “Yeah, that uh… that definitely happened last night,” Cassie stuttered, refusing to meet Rachel’s eyes.

"Wait… really? You guys seriously hooked up?" Rachel said, her eyes wide, her mouth agape. "I was honestly just trying to make a joke. I didn’t even hear anything last night. I mean, I know you and I know Jake, we’ve been friends since diapers. Were you guys super drunk or something?" Rachel asked, beginning to pace along the floor. "Did Jake roofie you or something? Like, what the actual HELL Cassie? This isn’t like you."

Cassie stared at Rachel, an incredulous look leveled at her best friend. “Jake didn’t actually initiate anything. I did. It just, it feels like I’ve known him, like forever. For hundreds of years, like I’ve fallen in love with him a thousand times before. Last night… we talked about last night this morning. And we decided that we both wanted to take it slow.”

Rachel nodded, taking everything in. “One question. I know how you feel about sex and all that, so why did you initiate it? You were, a few days ago, one more awkward pass from some skeevy dudebro away from running away to a convent. What changed?”

"Nothing I guess. Just, I found someone that I wanted. It was like standing inside a bonfire. And last night burned the excess passion off, so I just feel like I’m standing in a bed of embers. The desire for closeness is still there, but I’m not about to do something so hormonally fueled again," Cassie replied, hugging her best friend tightly. "It was just kinda like having a spring inside of you, that you didn’t know what tightening every day, and it tightened every day for years and years, until one day you finally realize it’s there, and it’s tight and it releases all at once. That was kinda how my feelings were last night."

Rachel laughed, her face screwing up at the mental image, “Ok Cass. Well as much as I love to hear about you wanting to be with my cousin, how about inviting our good friends Ben and Jerry over and watching the rest of Season 1 of Teen Wolf?” Rachel asked, already headed to the fridge.

"Sure," Cassie replied, laughing at her friends antics.

They ended up finishing season 1 and most of season 2 before Cassie finally begged off, hugging Rachel and thanking her for a great hanging out time and bull session.

As Cassie reached the door, Rachel spoke up, “I noticed you wearing Jake’s clothes. But that’ll be a story for another day. I actually have to get to bed here soon. I have a practice trial in the morning. If I impress everyone, it’ll help me find a job after I finally finish law school.”


	6. Halloween, Chili Night, and Scars in Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie and Jake's routine. Snapshots of their relationship.

They settled into a routine after that first night. Jake would meet Cassie on his lunch break and take her out to eat every other Tuesday and Thursday. Cassie would bring Jake something to eat if he had to work through his lunch break those days, she always stayed and talked to him complain about whatever he was working on. Jake would invite Cassie to dinner at least three times a week, cooking whenever she came over. On the nights she came over for dinner, Cassie always stayed the night, watching TV cuddled up on the couch until it was just after 10. At 10 they went to bed, taking turns changing in the adjacent bathroom. Cassie always slept against the wall, curled into Jakes uninjured side, his arms sprawled out over the bed, his injured leg hanging off the far side, just barely touching the floor.

It was on a night like that when Jake, his eyes closed, his breathing mostly steady asked, “So Cassie, what about your scars?” He spoke softly, his chest barely moving with the words. “You’ve seen my physical scars, but all I’ve seen of yours the the claw marks on your hands. Do you have any others?” Jake asked, his tone hesitant but filled with curiosity. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want, I’ll understand.”

Cassie laid one arm across Jake’s abdomen, resting her hand over his scarred fingers. “I don’t really have that many scars. The only ones I have are the ones that you’ve seen. Although when I was sixteen or so, I got a chip taken out of both my canine teeth,” Cassie shrugged at this point, a smile popping up on her face. “I don’t remember exactly when it was or what happened, but I think a Frisbee caught me in the face after school one day. There was enough left for them to just give me a kind of filling, basically remaking the tooth. They didn’t have to pull them and give me partial dentures or anything like that.”

Jake raised an eyebrow, looking down at Cassie, his face blank. “I would’ve never known that if you hadn’t told me. You must’ve had an amazing dentist.”

Cassie nodded, “Yeah, Dr. G was pretty great. He said it was actually a blessing in disguise it happened. Turns out I had been wearing away at my teeth subconsciously over the past few years. I was grinding them together or something. I just don’t remember ever doing it,” Cassie placed a kiss against Jake’s shoulder, pausing for a moment. “So what about you? Any mouth scars that you’re hiding?”

Jake laughed a short quiet laugh, kissing Cassies forehead. “Actually yeah I do. I was hoping you’d either never notice or not ask,” Jake replied, drawing his upper lip higher, showing criss-crossing strips of pale white scar tissue.

"Those look really interesting," Cassie said, leaning forward for a closer look. "What exactly happened?"

Jake let go of his lip, running his tongue over his gums, pausing to think. “You have to try not to laugh ok?” Jake asked, a blush forming. “So uh, I got those around the same time I got my hand scars I guess. See Marco used to have braces. And we were best friends. And he had this girl he had went on a few dates with, and was getting to that point where he was expecting to be able to kiss her. So he suggested that we ya know…” Jake paused here, taking a deep breath. “Practice kissing since we were good friends and it wouldn’t make it weird. We practiced french kissing too, but every so often practicing, his braces would get the little hooks caught in my gums. They caused little tears in my gum line.”

Cassie looked up at Jake, biting her lower lip, silent giggles shaking her shoulders. “So uh, I guess you guys must have practiced quite a bit together. There sure are a lot of scars.”

Jake nodded, his face bright red. “Yeah actually. I actually realized during that time that I was bisexual, and so I didn’t mind helping him practice.” He cleared his throat, coughing once.

Cassie smiled up at Jake, leaning up and kissing the tip of his chin. “I’m glad you told me. You could’ve lied and I’d have never known the difference. You were honest with me, and that’s really really important to me,” As she settled back into the bed and the crook of Jakes shoulder, she spoke one last time before drifting off to sleep. “I’m bisexual too by the way. Just thought you should know. I’ll make you a deal, I’ll point out any cute people I see if you do the same for me.”

Jake hugged Cassie tightly, stroking her back as she settled into his arms. “Deal, but I want you to know that I think you’re the cutest person I know. Good night Cassie.”

Cassie mumbled something back at Jake, her eyes already closed and her breathing already steady.

Jake fell asleep a few moments later, knowing that it would be a nightmare free sleep.

~~~~~~~~~

Another part of the routine was family introductions. They spent Sundays between four and 6 doing something with Jake or Cassie’s family, getting to know everyone. It was the fourth, maybe fifth of these kinds of days with Cassie’s family when Jake had the misfortune of entering the Freedman household and smelling chili.

"That smells really good Cassie. What is it?" Jake asked, taking deep breaths through his nose.

Cassie’s face paled at Jake’s words, a look of terror on her face. “That’s my dads infamous chili. You know, the stuff that can strip paint from walls and make the horses shy away from him if he breaks wind after eating it.”

Jake laughed for a moment, smiling at Cassie before drawing her into a hug, kissing her softly. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad babe. Remember I had to eat army food for the better part of the last 2 years, pretty sure everything tastes better than Igor’s cooking.”

Cassie returned the kiss, smiling at Jake as he talked. “Yeah, I know about the army food, but you also have trouble with Taco Hell hotsauce, so I worry that it’ll be too hot for you. I know that you’re a big tough army man who isn’t afraid of any enemy, but I really wanna be able to spend the night with you and my parents. And you getting sick from the heat of the chili might put a crimp in that plan.”

At this point, Michelle Freedman walked into the foyer, seeing Jake smiling down at Cassie, both of them smiling small secretive smiles. “Oh Jake dear, when did you get here?” Michelle asked, rushing over and placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling between the two.

"I actually just got here Mrs. Freedman. Cassie was busy warning me about the chili being hot," Jake replied, smiling back, standing just a little straighter.

"Jake, honey, I’ve told you to call me Michelle. And to call Cassie’s dad Walter. You don’t have to be so formal around us. And if the chili heat will bother you, we’re also having sandwiches. I’ll tell Walter so he won’t get offended," Michelle replied, hugging Jake, once tightly. "It’s always nice to see you Jake."

Jake returned the hug with one arm, the other sliding from around Cassie’s shoulders to rest against her arm, their fingers twining together. “Always nice to see you too ma’am. Thank you for the help with dinner, I’m just a bit of a whimp when it comes to spicy foods.”

Cassie rolled her eyes with a smile on her face, brushing Jake’s knuckles with her thumb. “Sooooo… wanna watch a movie while we wait?” Cassie asked, gently pulling Jake toward the living room, smiling wider at the feel of him following easily.

"Sure. You pick the movie though, I had a movie marathon last night with Marco and we watching every Sylvester Stallone movie from the 80s forward. I can’t think of a single movie that doesn’t have him in it right now," Jake replied, plopping down on the couch, his head lolling back.

"Ah, you were hanging out with your other man. Now I see why you didn’t text me back," Cassie joked, sitting next to Jake, taking the chance to get comfortable cuddled up to him. As she situated herself to make sure Jake had room to move his leg if it started giving him trouble, she leaned up, kissing the edge of his jaw line lightly.

Jake smiled at Cassie, wrapping his arm around her, his shoulders slumping, his body relaxing now that she was in his arms again. He started softly stroking her shoulder as the opening credits for the movie rolled. “Hey, what can I say. It’s the hair, it gets me every time,” Jake teased back, kissing the top of Cassie’s head as the movie played.

Jake ended up dozing off as the next scene began in Memento, trying valiantly to stay awake, interested in the movie. Cassie wasn’t far behind him when Walter walked in, “Kids, it’s time for din…” He trailed off, seeing Jake dozing. “I have an idea,” He spoke quietly to Cassie, going over his plan, winking at her as she nodded along with it.

When Jake awoke, he saw two portable tables sitting infront of him and Cassie, the one closer to him with a sandwich on it. Cassie’s held a bowl of chili with her sandwich, glasses waiting to be filled.

"Morning there Jake," Walter spoke, a genial tone in his voice between bites of his chili. "Cassie told us you had some issues with sleep and being woken up quickly. After everything that happened to you… overseas, we want you to feel at home here. So we set this up so we could eat as a family still, but not put you out as our guest."

Cassie leaned into Jake’s shoulder, wrapping him in a quick hug. “I hope you don’t mind me telling them. It’s just, I wasn’t sure how you’d wake up, and I know my parents are understanding. Grandpa Williams was in Vietnam and he came back with his own hidden scars.”

Jake nodded as Cassie spoke, his eyes watering up, his voice scarecely there as he spoke. “No, it’s really okay that you told them Cassie. It’s just…” Jake paused, taking a shuddering breath, pausing to wipe his eyes, “This means more to me than I can say. That you and your parents accept me. Even knowing how broken I am,” Jake’s eyes meet Walter’s once before looking at Michelle for a moment, returning to Cassie’s at the end. “You and your parent’s are wonderful loving people, and I can’t say thank you enough.”

Jake didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night, and he was told by Michelle as he was leaving, “Jake, my daddy never got over what he saw in those jungles over there, and I don’t know what happened. I won’t pry, but I want you to know that if you need, I know of a wonderful psychiatrist, he handles P.T.S.D. cases specially, and only works with people by recommendation. Let me know if you want his name ok?”

Jake nodded, tears springing back into his eyes. “Thank you Mrs… Michelle. It means a lot to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final bit of routine was centered around holidays. On birthdays within their group of overlapping friends, national holidays and any day Rachel decided that she wanted to enjoy herself by poking fun at them, Jake and Cassie would go out to the bars with their group of friends and dance and talk and generally have a good time.

It was two days before Halloween, and two days after Tobias’s birthday when they went out to party. “So,” Tobias drawled, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair, shyly reaching out for Rachel’s hand as he looked around the table. “Everyone been looking forward to hanging out tonight?”

At the enthusiastic yeses and the head nods, Tobias relaxed further, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m really glad guys. I’m sorry my schedule put us back so much, but I had to get the artwork finished and to the gallery.”

As Tobias leaned backwards, Rachel leaned forward with a gleam in her eye. “So Jake, you planning on dressing up and scaring kids this coming Halloween? You know, like the one back when we were 15 and you dressed like some Darth Maul meets Wolverine love child?”

Jake galred daggers at his cousin as Cassie sat forward quickly. “Oh you have got to tell me this story. It sounds great.”

"Marco, you swore to me that you wouldn’t bring that up to any girl I dated. Ever," Jake muttered, leaning over to talk to his friend.

"Hey Big Jake, don’t look at me. I didn’t say a word to your lady friend now did I?" Marco replied, thinking for a moment before continuing, "However I may have accidentally brought up embarrassing stories of yours when I ran into Rachel yesterday. But is it really fair to blame me for this?"

"Oh, it was great Cassie," Rachel began, speaking just loud enough for the table to hear. "Jake went whole hog for this costume. He basically got a leotard, painted it so it looked like lava, covered his skin in the painting too so he looked like he was a walking lava person. He even added some like half ping pong balls or something like that to go over his eyes. They were painted robins egg blue if I remember, made his eyes look crazy cool," Rachel trailed off for a moment, thinking. "Hey Jake, what did you ever call that costume thing? A screamer or something?"

"Howler," Jake replied, his tone frosty.

"Oh yeah, so this ‘Howler’ also got wolverine type claws and had a howl that Jake made himself. Recorded and mixed sounds of some big predators together and made that it’s howl," Rachel looked at her best friend. "It was a pretty cool costume all things considered, and Jake put tons of time and effort into it. But when he went out to try and scare people… nothing happened. Everyone thought it was some rip off of Darth Maul from star trek."

"Plus, it was a kinda weird idea Jakey boy," Marco replied as Rachel ended her explanation, pulling his wallet out and handing a picture to Rachel silently. "It was cool and all, but weird."

"Hey, that’s not to bad Jake," Tobias spoke up, clearing his throat roughly before continuing, "I one time dressed up as a bird."

"You mean like Hawkman?" Marco asked, confusion clear on his face.

"No, like just a regular bird. I painted my jeans so they looked like a birds legs, painted the scale pattern on and everything. I got a hoodie and tailored the entire thing so when the hood was up you couldn’t see my face and it looked like a hawk was staring back at you. I even added red to the hem of the jacket to imitate plumage. It was because of this birds meadow I used to sit in to relax after fighting with my uncle. He watched me draw and stuff, and I told him what was going on. I even kept going after I moved in with my mom again, despite the extra mile I had to walk to get there," Tobias suddenly realized all eyes were on him and immediately ducked his head, blushing furiously. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to talk so much."

"No, Tobias, that was really really cool," Marco enthused, leaning across the table. "That was actually super cool to hear about man. Tell me more about your costuming, and about your art work. My mom buys a lot of art from gallerys in town, I wonder if she has any of your works."

Tobias blinked once, leaning across the table, starting to speak to Marco quietly, both nodding their heads, Marco occasionally clapping his hands or exclaiming love for a certain piece of art Tobias was talking about.

Cassie took her seat next to Jake again as the two men talked, leaning her head on his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think the costume sounded really cool, and the picture they got made it look awesome.”

"Thanks Cassie," Jake replied, giving her a hug. "Wanna dance?"

Cassie said nothing, just grabbed Jake’s hand and lead him out onto the crowded, noisy dance floor.

They danced the rest of the night, with only eyes for each other.


	7. Scars, Whiskey, and Alex put that thing back where it came from or so help me!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang celebrates Rachels new house. Alex(Ax) show's off a bit too much.

"So why exactly am I being dragged to my cousins newly rented house by my girlfriend again?" Jake asked, shooting a playful smile in Cassie’s direction, taking a hand off the wheel to gently take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before going back to 10-2 on the wheel.

Cassie gave Jake a side long look, exasperation plain on her face. “Because Jake, she’s moving in with Tobias and his cousin. And this is a house warming party. If we show up, we can be good supportive friends. Or would you rather her be angry at you?”

"Really? Why does no one tell me about these things? All I got from Rachel was an order to come to the new house at 8 tonight," Jake shrugged, humming along with the radio for a moment. "Then again, I guess Rachel knows you’re the brains of this relationship and I’m just the grunt."

Cassie reached over, gently shoving Jake’s shoulder, sticking her tongue out at him. “Oh shut up, Mr. I-went-to-west-point-and-made-captain-in-less-than-3-years-of-service. You’re just as smart as I am. I just have different skill sets. You’re tactical, I’m more personable. I deal with all the social stuff, and if we ever get invaded by aliens or sea slugs or something you’ll be the first person I call.”

Jake smiled over at her. his eyes flickering between his girlfriend and the road. “Can you believe it’s already been almost eight months?” Jake asked suddenly, “It’s been almost eight months since the morning you broke in to my place by accident instead of Rachel’s. This might sound cliche, but I wouldn’t trade that time for anything else in the world.”

Cassie leaned over, kissing Jake lightly on the cheek. “I wouldn’t either. Oh and by the way you need to turn around. Rachel’s street was three lefts back.”

Jake looked towards the passenger seat, an incredulous look on his face. “Why did you not tell me that earlier?” Jake asked, confusion clear in his voice as he pulled into a parking lot to turn around.

"Because you were being super sweet, and I was enjoying it. So I decided that I wanted to wait til you were finished to say anything. Plus, it’s funnier this way,"

~~~~~~~~~

When the happy couple finally made it to Rachel and Tobias’s new place, it was half past eight, and they had to park on the road. “Better late than never,” Jake joked, looping his arm around Cassie’s shoulders, smiling when her arm slipped to rest around his waist.

"Yeah, I guess. At least we know and like the people that are here," Cassie replied, rapping twice on the door before letting herself in.

As Jake entered slightly behind Cassie, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Rachel, her boyfriend Tobias, and his cousin Alex all sitting in a circle in various states of undress. Marco being the only one in the circle with a full amount of clothes on rose to met Jake and Cassie. “Hey there lovebirds,” Marco said, shaking his head slightly. “We were just playing a rousing game of strip poker while you made us wait.”

Jake stared at his best friend, a long suffering look on his face. “Marco, at time I wonder what the hell I was thinking when I made friends with you.”

"You were thinking about how awesome I was," Marco replied before looking at the people grouped around him. "So.. uh.. yeah, I’m gonna say games over unless you guys wanna keep losing to me in poker."

Rachel and Tobias both stood quickly, rushing to grab their clothes and pull them on. As they rushed, Tobias’s cousin Alex stood, moving back to the couch, leaving his shirt on the floor.

Jake stood, rolling his eyes at his friend, shooting Marco a look as he walked past him. “So uh, I had no clue what to get you Rachel,” Jake started.

"I suggested a hundred pack of condoms," Cassie piped up, still leaning against the door.

Jake shot a look over his shoulder, shoving the fifth of Jack Daniels in Rachel’s direction. “So here’s some whiskey. I know you like it.”

"Plus, it might be just as useful in the anti-baby department," Marco joked, clapping Jake on the shoulder. "You just gotta give bird-boy enough to give him whiskey dick."

"Oh you two are hilarious," Rachel said, looking between Marco and Cassie. "I blame you for this Jake."

"What? Why me? The hell did I do?" Jake asked, moving to flop on the couch, leaving enough space for Cassie next to him.

"You brought the little troll here. Plus, you’ve corrupted Cassie. She was so pure and innocent before this. Before knowing you."

As Rachel finished talking, Cassie burst out laughing, already snuggling into Jake’s side on the couch, pausing to kiss him lightly. “You didn’t do anything to corrupt me at all babe,” Cassie said, winking at Jake. “I just stopped caring about acting like the perfect sweet little girl.”

Rachel snorted, “Yeah, and I wonder what made you stop caring.”

Tobias ducked out of the room briefly, coming back to the room holding a tray of shot glasses. “So, since everyone is here, I propose a toast,” Tobias said, starting to pour shots of whiskey into the glasses, “If anyone wants water, just tell me and I’ll grab you some before I pour you a shot.”

No one objected to the shots right off, taking glasses as they got filled. As Tobias took the final glass, he raised it to the sky. “To good friends, the future, and my amazing lawyer girlfriend.”

Everyone took their shots, various agreements being spoken before and after the consumption of alcohol.

~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone in the group was pretty well inebriated by the time Jake noticed the scars on Tobias’s feet. “Hey Tobias, where did you get those scars?” Jake asked, his voice mostly clear, only a slight slur in his voice as he pointed at Tobias’s feet.

"I actually used to go running through the forest near the meadow I used to hang it out. I liked to run barefoot. Managed to slice my feet up on tree roots something awful. I also cut them up on sharp rocks at the bottom of a stream. Basically I sliced them up all over nature."

Jake nodded along as Marco spoke up, “Hey, that’s kinda like how we all ended up with the scars on our hands. Right Rach and Jakey boy?”

"What are you talking about Marco?" Jake asked as he saw Rachel nodding thoughtfully. "I don’t even remember how I got these really."

Both Marco and Rachel stared blankly at Jake, confusion on their faces. “You don’t remember shredding our hands in the old abandoned construction site when we’d go there and climb.Those buildings had some sharp ass edges, that’s how we cut up our fingers Jake,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember that. We always snuck out to climb and drink and talk about life in that construction site.”

"Yeah Jake, even I remember that," Marco replied, "And I had the most alcohol those nights out of any of us."

"Wait, but you have your scars on the palms of your hands Marco," Jake replied, taking a sip of his whiskey and cherry coke. "How the hell did me and Rachel end up with shredded fingers and you didn’t?"

"That’s elementary my dear Watson. Neither of you ever learned how to climb a tree right. You and Xena always acted like it was a rock wall, gripping with your fingers and pulling with that. I always put palm first, putting all the weight on my palm then pulling up," Marco replied, shrugging as he took a shot of his plum vodka.

As Marco finished speaking, Alex stood up, looking excited. “Are we discussing scars and acquisition?” Alex asked, his hands moving clumsily as he dropped trow, “Would anyone like to see my scar on my leg?”

‘Oh, Tobias’s cousin goes commando…. that’s interesting.' Was Jake's first thought, his mind latching onto the winding tattoo covering Alex's leg. It looked almost like a really thick blue rope wrapped around his leg, ending in a wicked looking blade. The blade was colored into a massive hole in Alex's leg, giving the blade a real sense of dimension.

"I was getting this done when I still lived in my home country," Alex said loudly, clearly heavily intoxicated. "I fell off of a rock outcropping, tore out a good amount of my leg’s muscles and almost had to lose the leg. I wouldn’t have been able to finish the design if that had happened, the blade would’ve been cut off. I would have been a vecol, a cripple in English."

As Alex finished his explanation, Tobias grabbed his shoulder, pulling him towards the back of the house. “Come on Alex, we talked about you getting drunk and just dropping pants. You’ve been in America for almost eight years now. You have to start wearing underwear man, at least when we have…” Tobias’s voice trailed off, leading his drunk cousin to the back of the house.

"So that was interesting and informative," Marco joked, the room erupting in giggles.

Jake spared a moment to chuckle along with the room, spending the rest of the night trying to remember any of the instances brought up by Marco and Rachel. All he could remember was the crushing feeling of dread and the faint sound of a tigers roar layered over human screams.


	8. Dreams and Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie returns after a week away. Jake's been having nightmares.

It had been almost 4 months since Rachels house warming party. Cassie was spending more and more nights at Jake’s apartment. There were some weeks where she didn’t spend a single night in her own bed. It was getting warmer again, and Jake had taken to only wearing pajama shorts to bed. Cassie had commented on it the first night, but had quickly taken advantage of it, changing her wardrobe to her own shorts and a thin tank top. More often than not she ends up falling asleep tracing gently over Jake’s scars.

"So," Jake began softly, absentmindedly running his fingers over the contours of Cassie’s back. "Do you have any plans this coming Monday? It’ll be a year that day since we started seeing each other."

Cassie gasped, looking up at Jake, “Is it really? I have to leave on Sunday for a conference in San Diego. I’m gonna be gone for two weeks. I’m really sorry, I thought it was the day after the conference.”

Jake nodded, kissing the tip of her nose. “It’s fine beautiful. Why don’t we just do something after you get back? We’ve been together for almost a year, waiting an extra week to celebrate it won’t kill me.”

Cassie smiled up at Jake, resting her head on his chest with a contented sigh. “I really care about you Jake, thanks for understanding,” Cassie said sleepily, carefully avoiding the ‘L’ word, knowing that it was true, but knowing that he was shy emotionally and wanted to let him say it first.

"I care about you too Cassie," Jake responded, relaxing as he wrapped her in his arms, enjoying the feeling of her fingers over his scars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie leaned over and hugged her mom tightly. “I had a lot of fun at the conference with you mom. I’m glad we had so much to do together.”

"Me too sweetie. It was nice seeing you for more than just a few hours each day when you were helping your father at the Clinic," Michelle responded, turning her head to look at her daughter as she grabbed her suitcase and overnight bag from the backseat.

"I know mom, but me and Jake have been spending more time together these last few months, and it’s been really good to see him being so happy and comfortable around me. He went to that doctor you mentioned, what was the name… Toomin?"

"Yes sweetie, that’s his name. And I want you to know that I’m very happy you and Jake and working so well. Just do try to bring him to dinner some time, you should see how your father mopes around the house," Michelle replied, a teasing tone in her voice, a smile on her lips.

"Yeah momma, I’m sure daddy is the only one who wants to see me at dinner," Cassie deadpanned, leaning back in the car to kiss her mother on the cheek. "I’ll see you later, I’m gonna go visit Jake before it gets too late."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After knocking and getting no response, Cassie let herself in, nodding as she heard the shower running in Jake’s bathroom. ‘Must be why he didn’t answer the door.’

Cassie put her overnight bag in Jake’s room, knocking on the bathroom door loudly. “Hey Jake, I got back into town a little early today and brought you by some lunch.”

"I’ll be out in a second Cass," Jake replied, the shower cutting off quickly. "Just let me dry off and get dressed."

Cassie nodded before realizing the door was still between them. “Sounds good, I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

As Cassie was setting out the containers of Chinese food, she heard footsteps. When she looked up and saw Jake, a smile started forming until she saw his eyes. He looked like a raccoon, large black bags under his eyes, his face was gaunt, he had over a days worth of growth on his face. Cassie rushed to his side, food forgotten, her hands going to cup his cheeks. “Jake, are you okay? You don’t look very good.”

Jake closed his eyes as her hand pressed against his cheeks, his face looking for a half second like he did before she left. “I just have been having more and more nightmares lately. I couldn’t get more than an hour before I was woken up by that red eyed bastard,” Jake replied, turning his head to place a light kiss over Cassie’s palm.

Cassie stared at Jake for a moment longer before dropping her hand to take his gently. “In that case let’s get you to bed. I’m back, and I’ll keep the nightmares away. I won’t let anything hurt you Jake.”

Jake nodded, following Cassie easily, his feet dragging. When they reached the bedroom, Cassie handed him his pajamas and pointed to the bathroom, “Go change, I’ll change in here. When you get back in here, you are going to sleep. I’ll take care of homer and all of that.”

Jake nodded tiredly, a smile on his face. “As you command drill sergeant.”

Cassie smiled at him for a moment, kissing him softly, her arms wrapping around his neck. “I missed you so much.”

Jake returned the kiss, his reply garbled by a yawn as he started towards the bathroom.

In the time it took Jake to change, Cassie changed, rolled down the bed covers, placed a book on her ‘side’ of the bed and check Homer’s food and water bowls. When Jake exited the bathroom, Cassie was already laying on the bed, her book in hand. Cassie patted his side of the bed gently, “Come on Jake, I know you’re tired.”

Jake made a beeline for the bed, immediately falling into bed, situating himself next to Cassie, his head resting on her shoulder. He spared one glance to the bedside table before his breathing dropped into a steady rhythm.

Cassie curled into Jake’s warmth, one hand stroking absently through his hair, the other turning pages in her veterinary journal. After she finished reading a new technique involving breed testing for dogs, she looked over to see homer dancing around the room. “Hey homer,” Cassie said, watching him jump over to her, “Do you need to go out boy?”

When homer barked his affirmative, Cassie stood carefully, making sure Jake settled into the bed gently. Cassie grabbed homers leash, clipping the dog on, letting him lead the way.

When Cassie reentered the bedroom with a much calmer, and probably lighter homer, she crawled back into bed with Jake carefully, fighting her own yawn.

As Cassie settled into Jake’s arms, wrapping him up in her arms, she heard him speak. “I love you Cassie, I love you so much. I’m glad you came back to me, I’m home again.”

Cassie felt her eyes welling with tears as she leaned up, kissing Jake softly, whispering, “I love you too Jake. I love you too.”

Jake smiled in his sleep, his breathing deepening. He doesn’t wake up for another 8 hours, holding Cassie in his arms throughout.


	9. Don't Blink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter. Mentions of Sex vaguely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the first scene break, there's a *BLINK*, read the paragraph after that. That's where the story was originally going to end. I extended it because, even if it was a decent ending point, I like having everything make sense.

It had been almost 6 months since Cassie had forced Jake into his 14 hour long nap and he had admitted how he felt. It had been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Cassie had gotten a job at the Gardens thanks to the conference, and Jake got a promotion in his firm.

With the lack of free time and a family emergency that turned out to just be an arrhythmia for Jake’s father, they never had time to celebrate their one year anniversary. But Jake had a plan to celebrate it, if everything went according to plan.

Jake was nervous, fidgeting as he held his hand out to knock on the front door to Cassie’s parents house. As he took a deep breath, he knocked on the door, reaching down with his free hand to rub his knee.

When Walter opened the door, he gave Jake a bright smile, holding out his hand. “Jake, it’s great to see you!” He exclaimed, pulling Jake into a hug when he took his hand. “How have you been?”

Jake smiled at Walter, his good humor contagious. “Things have been great sir. I got a promotion recently. Is Mrs. Freeman home right now?”

Walter nodded, gesturing Jake inside, calling for his wife. “She sure is Jake, Cassie’s still at work though. Do you wanna wait here for her?”

Jake shook his head, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “No, actually I kinda wanted to talk to just the two of you,” Jake replied, a weak smile on his face.

Michelle entered the room, a worried smile blooming on her face as she saw Jake. “Jake honey are you okay?” She asked, seeing the look on his face. “Did something happen to Cassie?”

Jake shook his head quickly, jumping at the immediacy of the concern shown to him. “No, Cassie was fine the last time I saw her. I just wanted to talk to the two of you.”

Walter gestured to the living room, walking and sitting in his arm chair. “What do you need to talk to us about Jake?”

"Well," Jake started, pausing to run his hand though his hair, "I know that I haven’t known your daughter for very long. Only a year and a half. But I know that I love your daughter very much. And so I…" At this, Jake trailed off, his hands fumbling around in his pockets, his fingers clumsy, refusing to communicate.

When he pulled out the small velvet box, Michelle gasped slightly and Walter leaned towards Jake. “I want to ask Cassie to marry me. And I know that you two are the most important people in her life. An she loves you both very much, and I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind having a son-in-law who’s as broken and damaged as I am.”

Jake closed his eyes as he finished speaking, bowing his head. When he felt warm arms around his shoulders, he looked up to see Michelle’s smiling face. “Jake sweetie, you aren’t broken, or wrong, or anything like that. You’re a good person, a good man, who went through something traumatic. That doesn’t make you less, and it doesn’t make us think less of you. I would be honored to call you my son-in-law.”

As Michelle’s speech ended Jake felt a strong hand on his shoulder. “Jake, I can’t help but agree with everything my wife just said. I know you’re going to a therapist, and I know you’re trying your best to do right by my daughter and yourself. I will be proud to call you my son-in-law, but know this, I’m proud right now just to say that I know you.”

Jake looked up at Casie’s parents, a smile on his face. “Thank you both,” He said quietly as he stood, shaking Walters hand one more time and giving Michelle a hug. “Now, I really do need to get back to work. Thank you both again.”

~~~~~~~~~

Cassie stood in Jake’s bedroom, hearing him changing in the bathroom, her heart pounding out of her chest. ‘Okay Cassie, stay calm. You rehearsed this all day. He’s going to walk out and see you, you walk up to him, tell him how much he means to you and that you want to show him. I mean a year is enough organic growth time right? And I mean it’s not like I’ve been deciding the best night to do this in a whi…' Cassie's stream of consciousness was interrupted by Jake leaving the bathroom, wearing his pajama shorts.

"Hey Cassie, there’s actually something I wanted to a…" When Jake first saw Cassie, his mind went blank and his mouth went dry. "Oh…" Jake began, his tongue feeling like a brick.

Cassie walked up to Jake, placing her hands on his chest, her fingers splayed across his chest, kissing him softly. “Jake, I know this is really sudden, and you can say no and I won’t be mad. But, I know you love me, and I know that I love you too. And I wanted to be with you, like that first night we met. It’s been a year and a half since we got together, and I’ve felt safe with you since I met you.”

Jake stared down at Cassie, his face burning red. “Cassie, I don’t know what to say, not really,” Jake pulled her close, kissing her softly. “But if this is what you want, I just want you to know that I want it too. I wanted to wait until I could tell you I loved you, because I know that if I had said it that first night, it would’ve cheapened it, lessened my words to meaningless blather. But I know that I do love you Cassie,” With that, Jake kissed Cassie, leading her to the bed.

It was slow and sweet, it was perfect and exactly what they both dreamed of, what they both never knew they needed.

As Jake lay there, chest heaving, skin slicked with sweat, his arms wrapped tightly around Cassie, he looked over, seeing the small velvet box, knowing what lay inside. As sleep began to claim him, one final thought entered his mind, ‘Tomorrow, over breakfast, that’s when I’ll ask her.’

~~~~~~

When Jake Berenson awoke, he felt like someone has scoured his mouth with steel wool and stuffed it with cotton to boot. As he rolled out of bed, he scanned his room for a shirt. After finding one, he pulled it on as he walked out of his bedroom.

When he entered the living room, he saw what he expected, Homer was laying on the floor, tongue lolling out, waiting to be walked. The couch was empty. ‘Wait, something isn’t right here.' Jake thought, scanning the room.

*BLINK*

He’s standing aboard the Rachel, the engines heating up to ram the One’s Ship, the former blade ship of Visser 3.

*BLINK*

Cassie is walking down the aisle towards him, and she looks stunning in white. Her skin is flawless and her beauty is eternal in his eyes.

*BLINK*

The ship lurches forward, no one expecting the sudden speed.

*BLINK*

His knee is acting up again, and he knows there’s gonna be a thunder storm. Before he can begin to grumble, his bedroom door slams open, a boy and a girl racing in, tackling him in a giant hug. “HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!” They yell together. They have skin the color of mahogany and the little boy has Jake’s eyes. The other looks so much like Cassie’s pictures as a child that he has to do a double take between his wife and their older child. He holds them close, crying into their embrace.

*BLINK*

The ship passengers have been slammed against the back wall. Jake can feel the force of gravity on his chest.

*BLINK*

His daughter, his baby girl has her hand on his arm as he walks her down the aisle. The man standing waiting for her is a good man. As he gets to the end of the stage, he stares for a moment at Marco’s son, so much like his father. “He would be proud of you,” Jake whispers, clapping him on the shoulder.

*BLINK*

He can feel his chest caving in. He can hear the bones splinter.

*BLINK*

He’s standing across from his son. Both of them are in their dress uniform. His son wearing a matching pair of silver bars like his own. Jake salutes first, standing at attention, getting ready to see his son be promoted to Major. “I’m proud of you son, I knew you could do it.”

*BLINK*

The ship is seconds away from impact.

*BLINK*

Jake places an urn and a death certificate for Cassie Berenson into his foot locker, tears streaming down his face.

*BLINK*

The Rachel makes impact,

*BLINK*

Jake Berenson lives to be age 87. He died less than two months after his wife. The official cause of death is natural causes. But everyone who knew Jake says he died of a broken heart.

*BLINK*

The ship explodes, there are no survivors.

*BLINK*

Jake is sitting at the breakfast table, fiddling with the ring under the table, watching Cassie take small dainty bites of her food. After a deep breath and his third pep talk of the last five minutes he finally slides out of his chair, landing heavily on his hurt knee. “Cassie, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately,” He began, taking the ring tightly in his fist. “And I wanted to ask you last night, but I thought today would be a better time. Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?” Jake asked.

*BLINK*

Jake stood above the wreckage of the Rachel, his spirit disembodied.

As the Ax’s form was vaporized by the explosion, a black vapor spread out, the size of a beetle. As it passed by Jake and the Ellimist, Jake snagged it from midair. “So is this it?” Jake asked, staring down at the vapor. “Is this the One?”

The Ellimist nodded, staring down at it with contempt. "Yes, and you have defeated it once again."

"What do you mean again? This is the first time I saw it," Jake replied, keeping his grip tight.

"No, it is just the first time for this Jake. You see, you are a cornerstone. Your unflinching loyalty, and your love for your friends. That trait is rare in human kind. The One, a being of primal fear, hatred, and rage cannot interact with that. It must have an opening, it must see darkness to posses, darkness to warp and destroy.”

"I killed hundreds of thousands of creatures. I did it to win a war. How is that not darkness? How does that not fit the bill?" Jake asked, screaming at the Ellimist.

"Because you did it, not because it was expedient, but because it was the only way. You did it and thought with each moment that if you could’ve sacrificed yourself alone that you would’ve preferred that to any other outcome."

Jake nodded, shrugging, “So tell me one more thing. What happens if I kill this bug?” Jake asked, gesturing to the One.

“Nothing will truly change. Jake Berenson, Genocidist, Yeerk Slayer, Savior is still dead. But you save another planet of people from ever experiencing the One and it’s foul presence.”

"So I die? There’s no stopping that? What does that mean for me. Not the me that slew yeerks, but the me that fought for my country. Who took shrapnel for my friend. What happens to him?"

"He will live on, in his world untouched by the One," The Ellimist replied, gesturing to the area around them. “This world is not the prime universe. The world where you have never encountered Yeerks is. In that world, the One does not have the power to attack. He uses these side universes, these possible outcomes to try to gain power. In some he wins, greed and envy and hatred rule supreme. In others, in the one’s where he tries to attack earth, he loses. He loses because of the work set in place by you. Because the love you show people resonates.”

"Why do I keep being attacked by him? Why does he go against humanity?" Jake asked, his hand clenching, crushing the bug.

"It is because he seeks to gain an ally. He seeks to get the Crayak to join him and crush me," At this, he showed a three block pyramid structure, the top showing Ax’s monstrous face, the bottom left block holding Ellimist’s visage, the right one with Crayak’s eye glaring balefully out. "You see, as much as Crayak and I fight against each other, we work against the One as well. Seperately we can hold our own against each other, or against the One. But since we all work against each other we never break the stalemate," The pyramid faded away slowly, "The Crayak’s only desire that will convince him to join the One is your head on a spike."

*BLINK*

Cassie leapt from her chair, tackling Jake to the floor. “Do you even have to ask Jake?” Cassie said, her nose snuggled into the crook of his neck, her lips tracing over the delicate features of his jaw, “Of course I’ll marry you.”

*BLINK*

"So what? I just keep fighting, keep trying to keep this thing at bay, then what?” Jake asked, staring at the Ellimist.

"Yes. You fight it with love. Romantic love, platonic love, sexual love, it doesn’t matter. But it is antithesis to a creature like the One to feel love. You and those around you are pieces in a wall to stop the One. But you are cornerstones, without those pieces the entire wall crumbles."

Jake nodded, closing his eyes for the final time in that universe.

*BLINK*

The kiss was soft and gentle, and it was perfect as Jake slid the ring over her finger, we wrapped her in his arms and held on for dear life. The kiss broke with both of them smiling and laughing for a moment before returning to the kiss.


End file.
